Flyer presser assembly



LY L m E S 5 RA E m 0% m m V WL F 'Dec. 22, .1970

Filed Jan. 16, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

INVENTOR. WALTER C. BOYTER J OHN M- QUINN ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1970 w, c, B-OYTER' ET AL FLYER PRESSER ASSEMBLY Filed Jan; 16, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR. WALTER C. BOYTER BY JOHN M- QUINN ATTORNEYS Dec. 22, 1970 iled Jan. 16, 1969 w. c. BOYTER ET AL FLYER PRESSER ASSEMBLY 3 Sheets-s 5 ENTOR.

JOHN M. QUINN /Mv r,

TTORNEYS 3,548,583 FLYER PRESSER ASSEMBLY Walter 'C. Boyter, 1500- Anthony Drive, and John Matthew Quinn, 2101 W. th Ave., both of Gastonia, N.C. 28052 Filed Jan. 16, 1969, Ser. No. 791,673 Int. Cl. D01h 1/04, 7/32 U.S. Cl. 57--117 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved presser assembly wherein the presser foot, leg, and the upper attachment member are separate components, and at least the upper member and presser foot are formed of a hard, durable plastic. Such an arrangement forms a self-lubricating joint and prevents binding or sticking of the presser assembly to the flyer leg as is the case in a conventional metal-to-metal joint. Moreover, the separable parts are more readily adapted to be manufactured by cost saving, high production methods, and if one part becomes worn or broken, it can be replaced without discarding the Whole presser assembly.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During the processing of textile strand material on a roving frame, the strands are drawn and then twisted as they are wound onto a bobbin. During the twisting operation, each strand of roving is spirally twisted as a means of binding the fibers together and to give each strand of roving suflicient strength to be further processed without pulling apart.

The twisting operation is performed on a flyer which comprises a generally inverted U-shaped member, one leg of which is solid and the other tubular. The roving strand, after being drawn through the drafting mechanism, is inserted into the upper end of the tubular leg at a predetermined speed, and the flyer is rotated at a corresponding rate to produce a prescribed number of twists per inch. The twisted strand of roving exits at the lower end of the tubular leg, from whence it is fed through a guide member at the outer end of the presser foot, which properly positions the roving strand for winding upon the revolving bobbin.

The presser foot is the lower element of the presser attached to the lower end of the tubular flyer leg, and is adapted to arcuately swing around the leg using the leg as an axis. Thus, as the roving builds up on the bobbin, the guide member on the presser foot also moves further from the axis of the bobbin to remain at the same position relative to the outer layer of roving. Other elements of the presser include the presser leg which is a weighted balance rod and an upper member which secures the upper end of the presser leg to the flyer leg and hereafter is referred to as the head.

Heretofore, the presser has been formed entirely of steel or other metals by a swaging or forging operation and has been pivotally attached in some appropriate manner to the tubular leg of the flyer as shown, for example, in U.S. Letters Patent No. 452,647 issued May 19, 1891. Pressers of this nature have been rather widely accepted in the textile strand processing industry, however, it has been found that, without lubrication, the metal-to-metal joint between the presser and flyer leg will bind or stick due to rust which builds up on the metal parts. Lubrication will prevent the rust, however it is not completely satisfactory, because there is a chance that the lubricant will work its way into the roving strand being processed, thus causing spotting or soiling of the finished material.

In the present invention, the conventional steel or metal United States Patent 0 ice head and presser foot are replaced by similar shaped elements molded from a strong, durable plastic. Therefore, there is no metal-to-metal joint between the presser assembly and the flyer leg, which is subject to binding and sticking because of rust. Moreover, these plastic parts are adapted to be manufactured more economically by a molding operation as opposed to the more expensive swaging or forging operation required in the conventional metal pressers. In addition, the present invention includes a three piece presser assembly, so that if one piece of the assembly becomes worn or broken, it is merely replaced, rather than requiring a completely new presser. A further advantage of the present invention is that the plastic material from which the head and foot are formed is relatively flexible yet sturdy and can be dis-assembled from the flyer leg without damaging any of the other components. A conventional steel or metal presser which is snap fit onto a flyer leg eventually becomes permanently sprung or deformed, whereas the hard, plastic material from which the assembly of the present invention is formed does not.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a presser assembly which is pivotally attached to the tubular leg of the flyer and which will not bind or stick to the leg as a result of rust buildup or other contamination.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved presser assembly wherein the individual elements are adapted to higher production methods than is the case in conventional pressers, thus reducing the overall cost and time for production.

It is still a further and more specific object of the invention to provide an improved presser assembly comprising separable components including a presser foot, 2. head, and a presser leg, the presser foot and head being formed of a hard, durable, yet flexible, self-lubricating, plastic material.

Other objects and various features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view in section, with parts broken away, showing a portion of a flyer leg having assembled thereto the presser assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view with parts broken away showing a portion of a flyer leg and the several components which make up the presser assembly according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view with parts broken away showing a manner in which the presser foot receives and secures the lower end of the presser leg thereto;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view with parts broken away showing a manner in which the presser leg as assembled to the head;

FIG. 5 is a plan view in section showing the relation of the presser foot to the roving package during the winding thereof; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a flyer mechanism having assembled thereto a presser assembly according to the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, there is shown a tubular leg 10 of a U-shaped flyer F, the leg 10 being inwardly shouldered as at 12 to define a horizontally extending slot 13. A head 20 and a presser foot 40 are connected together by a presser leg 30 to form a presser assembly 14 which is adapted to be snapped onto the leg 10 of the flyer. Both presser foot 40 and head 20 are formed as by molding from a plastic material such as that commercialized under the designation of Astons or nylons.

Presser head 20 comprises a body portion 22 having a threaded bore 24 therein for receiving the threaded upper end 34 of presser leg 30 (FIG. 4). A curved finger 26 extends from one side of body member 22, encircles the fiyer leg and approaches the other side of body portion 22 leaving a space 29 between the extremity of finger 26 and body member 22. A portion 28 of finger 26 is reduced in thickness to loosely fit in slot 13 along the inner wall of leg 10. An enlarged end portion 27 at the end of finger 26 acts as a stop, limiting movement of head in one direction about leg 10, the body 22 at the other end of finger 26 limiting rotational movement of head 20 in the other direction.

Presser leg 30 comprises a shaft 32 having an upper threaded portion 34 for attaching the upper end of shaft 32 to head 20 and a lower threaded portion 36 for attaching the lower end of shaft 32 to presser foot 40. The shaft is of such size and weight to enable the components of tubular leg 10 to effectively counterbalance the conventional solid leg L of the fiyer F to provide the proper weight distribution as the fiyer rotates at high speeds.

Presser foot 40 comprises a body member 42 having a threaded bore 44 therein for receiving the lower threaded portion 36 of shaft 32. A smooth bore 46 extends through body portion 42 parallel to bore 44 receiving the lower end of fiyer leg 10 and a slot 47 provides communication between bore 46 and the outside of said body member 42. Shank 48 extends in a generally curved path from body portion 42 inwardly toward the solid leg of the fiyer and connects the body portion 42 with a guide member 50 which is positioned adjacent the bobbin or outer layer of roving strand being wound onto the bobbin B. Guide 50 includes an eye 52 through which the roving strand being processed is threaded (FIG. 6). The bobbin B revolves at a rapid rate winding the twisted strand thereon and also traverses in a vertical path past the guide member 50, so that the strand being processed is continuously spirally wound along the length of the bobbin B as shown in FIG. 6. When a course is completed, the bobbin reverses its vertical direction placing a second layer over the first. This process continues until the bobbin is filled, and during this time the presser foot 40 moves from an innermost position adjacent the bobbin B in an arcuate horizontal path outwardly as the layers of strand S are built up upon the bobbin using fiyer leg 10 as a pivot point. (See FIG. 5.)

In use, the presser foot 40, head 20 and presser leg 30 are first assembled together, then the lower end of leg 10 is placed in the bore 46 of presser foot 40, and head 20 is placed adjacent the fiyer with slot 29 receiving the leg 10. The presser assembly 14 is then pushed onto leg 10 so that the leg is received and positioned within bores 28 and 46. The presser assembly may be removed by merely pulling the head 20 and presser foot 40 so that the slots 29 and 47 are enlarged and leg 10 may be withdrawn. It is thus seen that the joints between the presser assembly 14 and flyer leg 10 are self-lubricating, and will not bind or stick as a result of the buildup of rust deposits, and further need no lubrication.

An alternate embodiment of the presser foot is shown in FIG. 3 and includes a smooth lower end 36 of shaft 32 as opposed to the threaded lower portion 36. A pin 54 is inserted through a small hole 56 in the wall of presser foot body 42, said pin being in alignment with opening 37' in the lower end 36' of shaft 32'. This eliminates the requirement for threaded bore 44, and a smooth bore 44 may be substituted in the body portion 42' of presser foot 40, the remainder of the presser foot being the same as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Obviously, this change could be incorporated in the upper end of shaft 32 if desired.

Although a specific embodiment has been herein described and shown, it is recognized that various departures may be made therefrom within the scope of this invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the claims which follow.

That which is claimed is:

1. A presser assembly for pivotal attachment to one of the fiyer legs of a roving frame, said assembly comprising a presser foot and head connected by a presser leg, said presser foot and head being formed of a strong, durable, self-lubricating plastic material whereby the presser assembly will not bind in its rotational movement about a metal fiyer leg, said presser foot, head, and presser leg further being separable from each other.

2. The presser assembly according to claim 1 and further including a means for removably attaching said presser assembly to one leg of a fiyer.

3. The presser assembly according to claim 2 wherein the means for removably attaching said presser assembly to the fiyer leg comprises a curved finger extending from one side of the body portion of said head, said finger being flexible and so shaped as to wrap substantially around the leg of the flyer, thus holding said head on the fiyer leg, said presser foot comprising a bore which receives the lower end of said fiyer leg.

4. An improved fiyer for a roving frame comprising a generally U-shaped fiyer, one arm of said fiyer being tubular and having a presser assembly pivotally attached thereto, said presser assembly comprising a presser foot and head connected by a presser leg, at least said presser foot and head being formed of a strong, durable, selflubricating plastic material at least at the point which contacts the leg of said fiyer, said presser foot, head, and presser leg further being separable from each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,814,177 11/1957 Meyer-Busche 571l7 2,840,980 7/1958 Whitehead 57l 17 2,873,571 2/1959 Robinson 571 17 3,020,698 2/ 1962 Schiltknecht 57-l 17 3,318,079 5/1967 Costner 571l7 JOHN PETRAKES, Primary Examiner 

